WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
SENATE JOURNAL
SEVENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION, 2003
SEVENTH DAY
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Charleston, W. Va., Tuesday, January 14, 2003
The Senate met at 11 a.m.
(Senator Tomblin, Mr. President, in the Chair.)
Prayer was offered by the Reverend Henry Thaxton, Member,
Maranatha Baptist Church, Charleston, West Virginia.
Pending the reading of the Journal of Monday, January 13,
2003,
On motion of Senator Chafin, the Journal was approved and the
further reading thereof dispensed with.
The Senate proceeded to the second order of business and the
introduction of guests.
The Clerk presented a communication from the Division of
Juvenile Services, submitting its annual report as required by
chapter forty-nine, article five, section thirteen-e of the code of
West Virginia.
Which communication and report were received and filed with
the Clerk.
Senator Tomblin (Mr. President) presented a communication from the Coal Heritage Highway Authority, submitting its annual report,
in accordance with chapter twenty-nine, article twenty-eight,
section twelve of the code of West Virginia.
Which communication and report were received and filed with
the Clerk.
Senator Tomblin (Mr. President) presented a communication from
the Office of the State Treasurer, submitting its Debt Capacity
report as required by chapter twelve, article six-b, section four
of the code of West Virginia.
Which communication and report were received and filed with
the Clerk.
The Senate proceeded to the fourth order of business.
Senator Kessler, from the Committee on the Judiciary,
submitted the following report, which was received:
Your Committee on the Judiciary has had under consideration
Senate Bill No. 52, Eliminating certain bond on out-of-state
defendants in automobile accident cases.
And reports the same back with the recommendation that it do
pass.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeffrey V. Kessler,
Chair.
The Senate proceeded to the sixth order of business.
On motions for leave, severally made, the following bills were introduced, read by their titles, and referred to the appropriate
committees:
By Senators Prezioso, Bailey, Boley, Bowman, Caldwell, Deem,
Dempsey, Edgell, Facemyer, Fanning, Guills, Harrison, Helmick,
Hunter, Jenkins, Kessler, Love, McCabe, McKenzie, Minard, Minear,
Oliverio, Plymale, Ross, Rowe, Sharpe, Smith, Snyder, Sprouse,
Tomblin (Mr. President), Unger, Weeks and White:
Senate Bill No. 150--A Bill to amend and reenact section
fourteen, article three, chapter seventeen-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
relating to fees charged to disabled veterans for special
registration license plates.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation; and then to the
Committee on Finance.
By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse (By Request of
the Executive):
Senate Bill No. 151--A Bill to repeal articles one-b and one-
c, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to repeal section three, article
two, chapter thirty-one-a of said code; to amend and reenact
sections one and two, article ten-d, chapter five of said code; to
amend and reenact sections three and four, article sixteen of said
chapter; to amend and reenact sections one, two and four, article
one, chapter five-a of said code; to amend and reenact sections one, twenty-eight and thirty-three, article two of said chapter; to
amend and reenact section one, article three of said chapter; to
amend and reenact section one, article four of said chapter; to
further amend said article by adding thereto five new sections,
designated sections six through ten, inclusive; to amend and
reenact article seven of said chapter; to further amend said
chapter by adding thereto two new articles, designated articles ten
and eleven; to amend chapter five-b of said code by adding thereto
a new article, designated article one; to amend and reenact
sections two and three, article one, chapter five-f of said code;
to amend and reenact sections one and two, article two of said
chapter; to further amend said code by adding thereto a new
chapter, designated chapter five-g; to amend and reenact sections
five, six and seven, article six, chapter twenty-nine of said code;
to amend and reenact sections two, three, four, five and twelve,
article twelve of said chapter; to amend and reenact section two,
article one, chapter thirty-one-a of said code; to amend and
reenact sections one, four and twelve, article two of said chapter;
to amend and reenact sections one, fifteen and sixteen, article
two, chapter thirty-three of said code; to amend and reenact
sections six and seven, article twenty-b of said chapter; and to
amend and reenact sections one and two, article one, chapter forty-
seven-a of said code, all relating to reorganizing the executive
branch of government; restructuring the grouping of state agencies under departments headed by department secretaries; consolidating
the department of administration and the department of tax and
revenue into a new department of finance and administration;
establishing five divisions of the new department of finance and
administration and allocating the functions of current divisions,
boards and offices to one of the five divisions; abolishing the
position of chief technology officer in the office of the governor,
the information services and communications division and the
science and technology council, and creating a new technology
division and office of chief information officer; abolishing the
insurance and retirement division of the department of
administration and creating a new employee and insurance services
division within the department of finance and administration;
providing that the director of the employee and insurance services
division shall have the power and duty to chair certain boards and
consolidate or reorganize certain internal functions and
operations, transfer funds and supervise internal management;
creating a new regulatory services division within the department
of finance and administration; providing that the director of the
regulatory services division shall have the power and duty to
consolidate or reorganize certain internal functions and
operations, transfer funds and supervise internal management;
transferring professional and occupation boards of examination and
registration to the division of regulatory services; creating a new department of tourism, natural resources and parks and transferring
certain agencies formerly within the bureau of commerce to the new
division; providing that the commissioner of tourism, natural
resources and parks shall have the power to consolidate or
reorganize certain internal functions and operations, transfer
funds and supervise internal management of agencies within the
division; reorganizing and consolidating certain functions of the
insurance commissioner, the division of banking and the state board
of risk and insurance management; redesignating the agency of
insurance commissioner as the division of insurance; creating an
executive officer for the supervision and control of banking and
insurance functions; modifying the powers and duties of department
secretaries; abolishing the bureau of commerce and transferring
certain agencies formerly within the bureau to other departments
and divisions; transferring public defender services and the
prosecuting attorneys institute to the department of military
affairs and public safety; and modifying the internal structure and
functions of certain transferred agencies and the composition of
certain boards and commissions to conform with the purposes of said
reorganization of the executive branch.
Referred to the Committee on Government Organization; and then
to the Committee on Finance.
By Senators Snyder, Ross, Bailey and Deem:
Senate Bill No. 152--A Bill to amend and reenact section eleven, article two, chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
commercial sale of venison in restaurants or other eating places.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.
By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse (By Request of
the Executive):
Senate Bill No. 153--A Bill to amend and reenact sections
four, five, ten, eleven, thirteen, thirteen-b, sixteen and twenty-
eight, article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to
amend and reenact sections one, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight, nineteen and twenty-six, article twenty-two, chapter twenty-
nine of said code; to amend article twenty-two-a of said chapter by
adding thereto a new section, designated section three-a; to amend
and reenact sections three hundred six and three hundred eight,
article twenty-two-b of said chapter; to further amend said article
by adding thereto a new section, designated section three hundred
thirty-five; to amend article twenty-five of said chapter by adding
thereto a new section, designated section two-a; to amend article
twenty, chapter forty-seven of said code by adding thereto two new
sections, designated sections one-a and one-b; to amend article
twenty-one of said chapter by adding thereto two new sections,
designated sections one-a and one-b; and to amend article twenty-
three of said chapter by adding thereto two new sections, designated sections one-a and one-b, all relating to gaming,
including horse and dog racing, pari-mutuel wagering, lottery,
racetrack video lottery, limited video lottery, authorized gaming
facility, charitable bingo, charitable raffles and charitable
raffle boards and games; renaming lottery commission as state
gaming commission; abolishing racing commission and transferring
powers and duties to state gaming commission; transferring powers
and duties of tax commissioner as to charitable bingo and raffles
and charitable raffle boards and games to state gaming commission;
making substantive changes necessary to effectuate changes; and
specifying effective dates.
Referred to the Committee on Government Organization; and then
to the Committee on Finance.
By Senator Sprouse:
Senate Bill No. 154--A Bill to amend and reenact section
three, article seven, chapter eighteen-c of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
relating to eligibility requirements for PROMISE scholarships to
include educational institutions that are nationally accredited.
Referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the
Committee on Finance.
Senators Sharpe, Ross, Minard, Caldwell, Facemyer, White,
Oliverio, Hunter, Love and Unger offered the following resolution:
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 5--Requesting the Division of Highways name the new bridge near Jackson's Mill, Lewis County, the
"Homer Bennett Bridge".
Whereas, Homer Bennett is a native of Lewis County who served
his nation with pride and distinction during World War II as a
sergeant in the United States Army; and
Whereas, Homer Bennett is a prominent businessman and
President of Bennett's Home, Auto and Furniture Center in Weston
and he has served his community in numerous positions, including
Past President, Lewis County Chamber of Commerce; Past President,
Weston Lions Club; Past President, Lewis County Shrine Club;
Member, Board of Directors of Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital;
Member, Board of Directors of Citizens Bank of Weston; and Radio
voice of the Lewis County Minutemen, 1973-1980; and
Whereas, The dedication and commitment of Homer Bennett to the
citizens of Lewis County earned him the Governor's Outstanding West
Virginian Award and the Spirit of Freedom Award in 1983; the West
Virginia Home Furnishings Retailer of the Year, 1987; and the Lewis
County Spirit Award in 2001; and
Whereas, It is fitting that the new bridge near Jackson's
Mill, Lewis County, be named the "Homer Bennett Bridge" as a
lasting symbol of appreciation to a man who has dedicated so much
to his community; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Legislature hereby requests the Division of Highways name the new bridge near Jackson's Mill, Lewis County, the "Homer
Bennett Bridge"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is requested
to have made and be placed signs identifying the new bridge near
Jackson's Mill, Lewis County, the "Homer Bennett Bridge"; and, be
it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby
directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Secretary of
the Department of Transportation.
Which, under the rules, lies over one day.
The Senate proceeded to the twelfth order of business.
Remarks were made by Senators Prezioso, Snyder, Deem and
Chafin.
Pending announcement of meetings of standing committees of the
Senate,
On motion of Senator Chafin, the Senate adjourned until
tomorrow, Wednesday, January 15, 2003, at 11 a.m.
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